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SoFlo LIVE | SFLTIMES.COM | SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES | JANUARY 21 — JANUARY 27, 2016 | 5C n rebounds from setback to launch business R m has the ingredients for a man stumbles into idea for the business and begins ut ends up serving a fedan unbelievable charge. behind bars to self-motiy resumes her business, le home-based operation company that is getting alked to the South Florida s, how a simple mistake with the government and ts and fear played in her siness. Treats? n a dentist’s office and I und a little kit at Big Lots carve shapes out of wa- s appreciation week at my stor a fruit arrangement. dy came up to me to ask for that. In my mind, I price of the fruit so I could aid, ok, I’ll take three and time basis? purchased the arrange- to quit my job, this is it, I my job at the dental office h my last check of about re serving time in federal ? all business in Bahamas. work that I had to fill out erwork incorrectly. Unforout the paperwork incor- t I was paying the bill for er investigation by the FBI ay, I don’t know what it s that they were auditing ork. for completing a form inl security number incor- my social security number ing 15 years in prison for overnment form. I get that roperly, but I had a clean cket. mind while locked up? While I was in prison the whole time, I said ‘this can’t be my life.’ I counted down every day. While I was there, I did plan. It brought light to ‘when I get out of here, I have to hit the ground running. I cannot let this hold me back or keep me down. This is something that can’t stop my life.’ I’ve your life, but it will change it. You went from running the business at home to opening a store in North Miami Beach. What was the timeframe involved? When I got out in 2012, I hit the ground run- ning. I did it from home for a while, saved up a little money then opened the store in North Miami Beach (16468 NE 16 Ave.) in November, 2014. I also opened the store because I had a little difficult time finding a job How’s the business doing? It is a new business so I just have to get the word out there more, considering I haven’t done any real marketing, we’ve doing really good. Word of mouth and social media are amazing and very important to us. Neki Mohan from channel 10 started following us on Instagram, which I was totally unaware of, she called me said she wanted to feature us on channel 10. We’ve had quite a few blessings since that unfortunate situation. What has your experience taught you about the power of your thoughts? Whatever you want in life, you really, have to believe, and I mean really, really, really believe that it will and it can happen. If you focus on it and you work towards it. A lot of people say God helps those who help themselves. He does help you, but you have to help yourself. You have to show him that this is what you want, what you really, really want in life. You can’t just sit there and say ‘God I want this’ and expect it to just land in your lap like the lotto or the Powerball. He has to see you work towards it. If you work towards it, He’s going to give it to you. And I really wanted Titi’s Treats and I really wanted to work, and I worked hard. Has fear been an issue for you, and if so, how do you deal with it? Fear did come up quite a bit, but fear couldn’t stop me. Whatever fear came my way, I had to pray or meditate. You can be scared but you have to move forward. You have to want it bad enough and I wanted this really badly. Have you ever thought about giving up? I can’t even tell you how many times I said I’m done with this, I can’t do this. But I had no other choice. There was no plan B. There was a plan A MOTOWN IS A REGIS ® 305.949.6722 · arshtcenter.org ® STERED TRADEMARK OF UMG RECORDINGS, INC ZIFF BALLE ET OPERA HOUSE and a second part to plan A and a third part top plan A and a fourth part to plan A, but there was no plan B. What did your experience teach you about yourself? l learned that I’m stronger than I thought I was, I’m smarter than I thought I was. I never thought I could run a business. I knew I was a people person, a social butterfly and I could talk you to death, but I never thought I was smart enough to own a business. What do you want our readers to know about Titi’s Treats? I just want them to know that we’re here. (Titistreats.com) They have an option. If they give us a try, I can guarantee they’ll come back. We want to deliver smiles all over South Florida. RAYMOND LUKE JR. PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS. ALL OTHER PHOTOS Y S BY ANDREW ECCLES.